1. Grafton Thomas, the suspect in the Monsey stabbings, has been charged with a federal criminal complaint. I thought I would share this passage from it, as it illustrates something about federal hate crimes laws that many may not know. Note that the agent had to take some time 
2. in order to establish that the weapon ostensibly used in the attack originated in China and made its way to New York. The reason for this is that, because of the federal government established by the Constitution, federal jurisdiction over criminal acts is possible only under
3. certain circumstances. One of these is if it is related to the federal government's power to regulate foreign and interstate commerce--thus the effort to establish the origins of the machete involved in this case. Federal law enforcement agencies and prosecutors have to
4. meet jurisdictional standards that state/local agencies do not. Note, for example, in the hate crimes statutes summarized below the need for there to be federally protected activities, interstate commerce, etc.
